While numerous non-financial organizations have taken concrete steps to mark their territory in the crypto-ecosystem, the number of organizations joining the domain has skyrocketed in 2019. The latest buzz was created by IBM. Although the tech giant had previously announced its involvement in leveraging blockchain for its future projects, Tsuyoshi Hirayama, Director of Digital Innovation Business Development, IBM Japan, shed light on some recent IBM blockchain developments at the Consensus 2019 conference.

During the interview, Hirayama addressed his interest in working with IBM Japan’s blockchain initiatives, and attributed it as the only reason to join the company. He also stated that his “Hyperledger background and Amazon Web Services experience” could also help IBM in catalyzing innovation.

While stating that giants like Microsoft and Oracle are not a competition to IBM in the blockchain space, he added that the inclusion of more companies will only help “users within the overall blockchain community.”

Hirayama was also questioned about blockchain’s commercial use, to which he answered,

“It depends on the project and the industry.”

He also hinted at making blockchain technology available through smart contracts, informing viewers that IBM is leveraging historical data from other industries to implant blockchain-based processes.